Feast your way along Main Street for $30

John Volo

Taking my cue from a show on the Food Network, I donned my best

tourist garb and attempted to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner on Main

Street for less than $30.

My first stop was Java Point Cafe, which is nudged inside

Huntington Surf and Sport. Java Point serves a variety of coffee

drinks and baked goods from an area only slightly larger than my

bedroom closet. Since I prefer my caffeine cold, I opted for an iced

mocha ($3.50). Warm drinks that caught my eye included the Dawn

Patrol (espresso with coffee) and the mellow Steamer (steamed milk

with your choice of flavored syrup).

My nonfat peach muffin ($2.25), with a smattering of peach slices

baked inside, satisfied my muffin craving while also helping to keep

my ever-expanding waistline somewhat in check. The full-calorie

muffins I salivated over included a glistening honey bran muffin

shaped like a bundt cake and a pumpkin spice muffin topped with

orange glaze.

Java Point also offers bagels, a variety of croissants

(strawberry, cream cheese, chocolate), a protein-packed sunrise

sandwich (egg and cheese on toasted bagel), granola and fresh fruits.

If you want to sit at one of the four sun-deprived outside tables

along Main Street, dress warmly or find a seat across the street at

the sun-drenched Pier Plaza, as I did.

Breakfast total -- $5.75. Remaining lunch and dinner funds --

$24.25.

*

A street sign advertising $5.95 lunch specials fortuitously led me

to Thai Wave restaurant in the 500 block of Main Street.

For less than you’d pay for beach parking, you can choose from

chicken, beef, pork or vegetables cooked in one of 17 different

styles. For an additional dollar, the lunch-special choices expand to

include shrimp, roast duck or calamari.

My beef Pad Kra Prow was fantastic. This incarnation includes

quality, tender beef slices, along with zucchini and carrot slices,

in a zesty sauce that incorporates chilies, onions and fresh basil.

All lunch specials come with a salad flavored by a delicious

peanut dressing, a crispy, thin-skinned egg roll, a half-dome of

sticky rice and a cup of soup. My vegetable soup in a clear broth was

surprisingly tasty, thanks to plenty of garlic bits floating about.

Had I not been on such a strict budget, I surely would have

soothed my taste buds with their coconut ice cream dessert. In an

effort to economize, I drank only ice water with lunch.

Lunch total -- $8.42 (tax and tip included). Remaining dinner

funds -- $15.83.

*

For dinner, I first contemplated going to Luigi’s (budget-busting

prices), then Inka Grill (half-price appetizers served in the bar),

before finally bellying up to the bar at The Longboard, a Main Street

staple since 1990.

I caved to my longing for an ice-cold beer and ordered a domestic

draft ($2.50 until 7 p.m.). The combination of a friendly price

($9.25) and old hometown favorite (haddock) lured me to the fish and

chips. My beer-battered haddock with hand-cut French fries was good,

but I kicked myself for not directing my beer money toward that

night’s special -- prime rib.

For a couple dollars more, I could have gotten a thick, juicy cut

of prime rib accompanied by a huge baked potato and a garden salad.

Oh well, hindsight is always 20/20.

Dinner total -- $15.47 (tax and tip included). Total expenditures

-- $29.64

* JOHN VOLO is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have

comments or suggestions, e-mail hbfoodguy@yahoo.com.